Red Smoke
by Spring Witch
Summary: Based on a tumblr post. While catching up at the Leaky Cauldron, the gang finally discover what it was that Neville forgot that made his Remembrall turn red. One-shot with slight Harry/Draco.


Hello everyone! It's been a while!

I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing more regularly, particularly on my older works that haven't been touched in a while. Unfortunately life caught up with me, and a lot has happened, but hopefully having a new PC will help motivate me. I also want to add that the site doesn't seem to like formatting of any kind, so if it's a bit hard to read I apologize!

So I decided to ease back into things with this one-shot, based on a tumblr post that I saw floating around Facebook that had me laughing my ass off! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any related characters. They belong to J.K Rowling, in her wisdom!

* * *

**RED SMOKE**

"Harry! Ron! Hurry up or we will be late meeting Luna and Neville!" Hermione yelled up the stairs. Looking at Ginny, she rolled her eyes. "Why did we think that these two living together would be a good idea?"

Ginny grinned. "Who knows? I could never organise Harry when we were dating, and Ron's never been organised in his life." She giggled.

Harry and Ron shared a flat in a Wizarding complex owned by the D.M.L.E, while they were in the Auror program. Ginny still lived at home with Mr & Mrs Weasley, when she wasn't flying Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. HHermione, in a similar situation as Harry and Ron, shared a small flat (Ministry Internship Accomodation) with Susan Bones.

Finally Harry and Ron emerged. Ron's shirt was buttoned wrong and Harry was trying to smooth down his hair, which only seemed to be making it worse.

"Oh, honestly!" Hermione exclaimed, re-buttoning her boyfriend's shirt in exasperation. "If you got ready at a reasonable hour this wouldn't happen _every time_!"

"Alright already! Jeez Hermione, enough!" Ron moaned in annoyance. "Let's go, shall we? We're late enough as it is!"

"Indeed." Hermione agreed archly.

"Yeah, let's go." Harry said. "You know Nev's always early."

With a crack, they Apparated away.

* * *

"_Finally_!" Neville exclaimed as they appeared at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Sorry, sorry!" Ginny laughed. "You know what these two are like." She jerked her head at Harry and Ron, who had the good grace to look sheepish.

Neville chuckled. "Don't worry, Dean and Seamus aren't here yet either." He answered cheerfully. As if conjured, Seamus and Dean Apparated in, making their own greetings and accepting the others' gentle ribbing with good humour.

Finally, with everyone present, they ordered their food and drinks, and settled down for a night of reminiscence and catching up on each other's lives. Luna was animatedly telling Hermione and Ginny about Nargle habitats, and Ginny nodded along, trying to keep a straight face, while Hermione looked exasperated and a little uncomfortable.

Ron and Dean were revisiting their old Football vs. Quidditch argument, Dean arguing the merits of West Ham over the (yet again) bottom of the ladder Chudley Cannons. Harry, Seamus and Neville laughed while they talked about work, making fun of Ron as his ears got redder and redder. Their food arrived and as the night wore on talk turned to their school days.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Ginny cried suddenly. "I saw Dennis Creevey the other day. He gave me these." She produced a stack of photographs from her bag. "They were Colin's. Dennis found them and passed on all the ones of us."

Awestruck, the group sifted through the mountain of photos. "Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. "Look at how young we all were!" Younger Ron waved from a Fifth Year picture.

Harry groaned with laughter as he came across a picture of himself arguing with Draco Malfoy. "Oh Merlin! That's what? Third Year?"

"At least mate!" Ron replied. "You and Malfoy get on alright these days."

"Yeah, but he's still a git." Harry grinned, laughing when Hermione yelped in horror over a photo that looked to be Sixth Year Potions, her hair frizzing badly around her head like a curly brown halo. Luna was exclaiming about all the Wrackspurts in her head in a photo of her and Harry at the Slug Club party.

As talk turned again to work and social things, Ginny kept flicking through the photographs; she hadn't had a chance to look at them since Dennis had given them to her, her training schedule was so crazy. The last photo caught her attention, and she stopped to look at it. It was a candid shot, none of them looking at the camera. "When was this taken? I don't remember this."

Harry looked over her shoulder. "Oh _wow_… that's _First Year_! You weren't even at Hogwarts yet."

Dean took the photo from Ginny. "Merlin, _we_ were barely at Hogwarts! Look, that's the morning before our first flying lesson. See, Nev's got his Remembrall. It's glowing red."

"Oh yeah!" Seamus remembered. "Malfoy stole it after Neville got hurt, Harry got it back."

"Right. Broke my wrist, launched Harry's Quidditch career. Figures." Neville laughed dryly. He looked down at the picture. "Still can't remember what I forgot that day." He chuckled and passed the photo on to Luna.

"So Harry, got a new girlfriend yet?" Ginny asked her ex with a cheeky grin.

Harry groaned. He knew the question would spark an interrogation from the others. "Nope, not yet." He answered, sending a glare Ginny's way. She knew the exact reason why he didn't have a girlfriend, and wasn't afraid to make fun of him for it.

"Jeez Harry, you and Gin broke up what? Three years ago?" Seamus elbowed him, grinning. "We gotta get you _laid_ man!"

Harry chuckled nervously. "Thanks, Shay, but I get laid plenty."

"Oho! Is that a fact? By whom, exactly?" Seamus demanded jovially, waggling his eyebrows comically.

Harry stammered and blushed. "A-as if I'd tell you lot! I'd never hear the end of it!"

Ron laughed. "You're never going to hear the end of it anyway!"

As Harry fended off his friends' teasing and ribald remarks, Luna's voice cut through their laughter. "Robes."

The table quieted slightly. "What was that sweetheart? Neville asked, smiling as Seamus, Dean and Ron continued to tease Harry.

"The photograph. You're not wearing your robes."

The silence around the table was deafening in the busy pub as Neville took the photo from his girlfriend. "She's right." He said disbelievingly. He began to laugh, running a hand over his face. "How did we never know that?"

"You've got to be joking!" Ron exclaimed, taking the picture. "Bloody hell! How did it take us nine bloody years to figure this out?"

The photo made its way back around the table. "No feckin' way! Un-bloody-believable!" Seamus exclaimed. "How did no one notice?"

Dean shrugged. "We were eleven? And it's not like nothing else happened that day. It's not like it was all that important in the grand scheme of things." He shook his head, laughing to himself. "And Colin was sitting on this for how long? Where did he even get it?"

Harry shook his head. "We might never know. Man, we were so young! Nothing to worry about except Quidditch matches and Double Potions with Snape." The Boy-Who-Lived-Twice laughed uproariously. "Ha! No way we were observant enough to realise Nev had forgotten his robes of all things!"

"I was". Hermione muttered from her spot next to him.

"Oh please!" Harry scoffed. "You didn't notice either! That was before we became friends!" Hermione huffed good-naturedly.

Harry picked up his glass. "Here's to Colin. I don't know how he got it, but thanks mate, for the memories."

Glasses were raised for a fallen friend, not with sadness, but with joy for the life he led.

With a sigh, Harry put his glass down. "On that note, I'm out. Gotta meet someone, and they're probably already waiting."

"Oh, new girlfriend mate?" Dean asked slyly.

Harry smiled lopsidedly. "Something like that."

"Well invite her in so we can meet her!" Hermione exclaimed.

Harry shook his head, "Not a chance in hell." he replied. "I'm not exposing them to you lot all at once, I'll be dumped for sure."

Ginny smiled. She was the only one to notice the gender neutral pronouns. "See you soon Harry, say hi for me." She said.

"Will do Gin. Later!" And Harry sauntered off.

"Who could he be dating?" Neville wondered.

"Watch the door, darling, and I imagine you'll find out." Luna replied, smiling serenely.

As one, they all turned to watch Harry as he reached the door. Once outside he greeted a young man with a smile and a kiss, throwing an arm around the shoulders of the smaller blond man.

Ron choked, spraying his drink everywhere. "Bloody hell! Is that –?"

Ginny sighed. "Yes Ronald, it is." She said, wiping Ron's drink off the table, and herself.

"Well this is a shock." Hermione said quietly. "He never said a word."

"I imagine he wanted to wait until the relationship was stable before risking everything for something we might not have approved of." Luna commented.

Ginny smiled. Trust Luna to have figured everything out on her own. She was more perceptive than people gave her credit for.

"You knew, didn't you Gin?" Dean asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah. They've been together almost a year. I imagine he'll be telling you guys soon; they're pretty serious. And the guy's changed; we actually get along really well."

"Harry's preferences were the reason you and Harry broke up, huh?" Ron realised, and Ginny nodded again.

Finally, Hermione shrugged. "Well, so long as Harry's happy, we have no reason to argue."

* * *

Outside, Harry smiled down at his boyfriend. "They probably saw us." He commented.

Draco shrugged. "Who even cares? If they don't like it, that's too damn bad for them." Harry laughed at his characteristic bluntness, and kissed his blond lover's temple, before telling him about Colin's photograph.

"I have no idea how he got it." Harry chuckled when he finished.

Draco coughed embarrassedly. "He…_ may_ have gotten it from me."

Harry stopped staring at his boyfriend in surprise. "What?" Draco demanded. "I was pretty seriously in love with you even in Sixth Year. I bribed it out of Lavender Brown, and then used it to bribe a photo of you out of Creevey. Lucky for me the kid was discreet. I know, I know! Totally creepy, I realise that, but I was sixteen! I think it was actually McGonagall who took the photograph."

Harry laughed and kissed Draco again. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed." He told him.

"Yeah, yeah." Draco smiled up at him. "Let's just go home, yeah?"

Harry returned the smile. He loved how Draco said _home_, even though he and Harry didn't live together, yet. "Sounds perfect." He replied.

As he walked arm in arm with Draco to the Apparition point, Harry couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"_Heh. He forgot his robes!"_

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed my little story! Please leave a review and hopefully I'll be back on to my other stories soon!


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